My Spoiled Child is Spoiling My Relationship!
by elsiecarson
Summary: Sheridan is home for summer holidays and normally that would make Hyacinth ecstatic, but this summer he's driving her crazy which is one thing she and Richard can agree on. Hyacinth sees all Sheridan's faults and she begins to wonder where she went wrong.
1. Chapter 1

Hyacinth slips into bed next to her husband and snuggles into the warm blankets. Richard's arm fits naturally around her waist. Sheridan is asleep down the hall. Hyacinth falls into a gentle sleep with pleasant dreams.

Early the next morning Hyacinth quietly climbs out of bed and pulls the covers up to keep Richard warm while she goes and makes breakfast. When she enters the kitchen she can smell coffee brewing. Knowing that she'd left Richard asleep upstairs she knows that her son must have gotten up early. "Good morning, Sheridan."

"Morning, mummy. Do you want a cup of coffee? It's still fresh." Sheridan says as he pulls a beaker out of the cupboard and begins to fix his mother's coffee.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Hyacinth says as she sits down at the kitchen table. She enjoys this time with her adult son. Her son is doing so much work at university that she rarely sees him.

"Mum," Sheridan says as he sighs and sits down heavily across the table from his mother. "Is dad disappointed in me?"

"What? Why do you think that? I don't think your father is disappointed in you." Hyacinth says gently. She knows her son is terribly sensitive.

"I know he thinks I should be studying something more practical at university. We just have different priorities. We don't see eye to eye on practically anything." Sheridan says as he looks down into his empty beaker. He worries about his relationship with his father.

"Sheridan, I know you and your father don't always get along, but that doesn't mean your dad doesn't care for you. He has his way of doing things and you have your way of doing things. You two are both a unique breed. It's why I love you both so much." Hyacinth says sweetly.


	2. Good Morning

Morning, darling." Richard says as he enters the kitchen and kisses his wife's cheek.

"Morning. You didn't have to get up yet. I would have come up and got you." Hyacinth says as she pours her husband a cup of hot coffee.

"I couldn't sleep anymore. It's not as cosy to be in bed without you next to me." Richard says as he pulls up a chair to the kitchen table, which normally only has two chairs at it. "Morning, Sheridan."

"Morning dad." Sheridan says going to the fridge, taking an apple out of it, and taking a big bite out of it.

"Did anyone go out and get the milk and the newspaper yet?" Richard asks as he looks around the kitchen.

"I haven't," Sheridan says quietly. "I just made some coffee when I got up."

"I haven't. Sheridan and I were just having a chat." Hyacinth says looking up at her husband.

"I'll go and get those things and be right back. What are we having for breakfast?" Richard asks as he opens the door to the kitchen.

"Anything you want, darling." Hyacinth says as she sips her coffee.

"Let's do bacon and eggs and toast then." Richard smiles at his wife. "It's the weekend. I can relax."

Hyacinth sighs and begins to collect the items to make breakfast. She bustles around practically ignoring her son.

"Mum, don't make me any bacon, okay? I'll just have eggs and toast." Sheridan says watching his mother.

"All right, are you sure I can't make some sausages or something?" Hyacinth asks concerned about her son's health.

"No thanks mum. I'm not really eating meat right now." Sheridan says by way of explanation.

"Alright, darling. Thank you, Richard." Hyacinth says taking the milk from her husband.

"Can I help with anything?" Richard asks putting his arm around Hyacinth's waist.

"You can make toast, if you don't mind." Hyacinth says putting her hand over the one Richard has on her waist.

"I can do that. How many slices of toast should I make?" Richard asks as he looks at his wife and his son.

"Just one for me darling." Hyacinth says beginning to make breakfast.

"Two for me, dad." Sheridan requests.

"All right, I'll make four pieces of toast then." Richard says as he takes the butter out of the fridge and puts two pieces of toast in the toaster.


	3. What Shall We Do Today?

Hyacinth sits down at the table and puts a plate of bacon and fried eggs on the table.

"Mum, please don't tell me you fried those eggs in the bacon grease! That's disgusting!" Sheridan cries disgustedly. He's recently become vegetarian.

Hyacinth gets frustrated with her son, which she does rarely. "You can cook your own breakfast from now on then."

"I'm going out for breakfast." Sheridan says flouncing out of the room and out of the house.

"Well, that's not the reaction I expected." Hyacinth says incredulously as she watches her son leave the house.

"Sheridan is just having a hissy fit. It sounds like he needs an attitude adjustment." Richard says as he sips his coffee.

"Oh, let's stop talking about Sheridan. He's driving me crazy right now. What are we going to do today?" Hyacinth asks. Normally she loves her son, but he's been awfully moody recently.

"I was going to have a potter in the back garden. Do you want to help me?" Richard asks as he pours himself another cup of coffee.

"Sure, I'll have to find my gardening gloves before we go out though." Hyacinth says as she finishes her toast.

"Your gardening gloves are in my gardening basket. Shall we head out?" Richard asks as he rinses the dishes and puts them in the dishwasher.

"I'm just going to get a hat to shade my face." Hyacinth says as she bounces up the stairs.

Richard picks up the gardening basket, slips his shoes on, and waits for his wife to come back down the stairs. As Hyacinth comes back through the kitchen Richard watches her tie her hat on her head with a large bow. She always manages to look beautiful and elegant even in a kitchen dress and old shoes. "That will certainly shade your face." Richard says gently. "I can hardly see you under there."

"That was the point." Hyacinth teases as she walks out the back door to the back garden which gives them more privacy.


	4. Have I Let You Down?

Richard shakes his head before he follows his wife outside. By the time Richard gets outside his wife is on her hands and knees over a flowerbed pulling weeds. She has such a lovely backside, Richard thinks. She thinks I've stopped noticing how beautiful she is, but I haven't. She just doesn't believe me now. He loves his wife dearly and she's been much more touchy feely and emotional with him recently. He doesn't really understand where it's all coming from, but he'll accept it. Richard gets his clippers out and begins clipping the biggest rose blooms into a bouquet. "Here darling, these are for you." Richard says kneeling next to his wife.

"Oh, Richard, they're beautiful." Hyacinth says as she looks up at her husband and tears begin to slide down her face.

Richard pulls Hyacinth into his lap and allows her to cry for a moment. "Hyacinth, what's wrong darling?" Richard asks cradling his wife.

"Richard," Hyacinth sniffs softly. "Do you ever wish we'd had more children?"

"Sometimes," Richard answers honestly. "There are moments when I think it would have been nice to have had a daughter or just another child. I don't think about it so much anymore. There are also moments, like this morning, when I think it would be nice not to have had any children at all. It's a little late to be thinking about all this now, Hyacinth." Richard says stroking her back.

"I know that, Richard, but there are times when I look at Sheridan and I see the awful mistakes I made with him. Maybe if we'd had more children he wouldn't be the way he is because I wouldn't have had as much time to spend on just him. I spoiled him and it's made him an uncooperative, selfish person. I'm sorry. I so wanted Sheridan to turn out like you, but it didn't turn out that way." Hyacinth says miserably.

"But, Hyacinth, you're always criticizing me. I never imagined you wanted Sheridan to turn out like me. Sheridan was your child from the start and I allowed it. He never liked me, really, and he never grew on me particularly. Maybe I wasn't meant to be a father, but we were always at polar opposites all the time. In his teenage years he did everything not to be like me." Richard says confusedly.

"Richard, I adore you. I know I don't say it, but I can't imagine life without you. Sheridan would have been much better off being more like you and far less like me. I'm concerned about his future. He hasn't made any definite or positive decisions about his future." Hyacinth says leaning her head on Richard's shoulder.

"He's still young, Hyacinth. He may not always make wise decisions, but all's not lost. He needs a job and some skills, but he can succeed. We did our best. It's up to him now." Richard says as he lifts the brim of Hyacinth's hat so he can see her face better.

"Yes, but Richard by the time you were his age you were firmly established in a career and we were about to get married. I see no job prospects and no relationship prospects on the horizon and I know he's not straight, but I'd settle for him being in a long term, committed relationship with another man at this point. I just want to see something positive from him to show me that I haven't totally failed as a mother." Hyacinth says sadly.

"We're from two different eras Sheridan and I. He's doing things the way his generation does things and I was conventional for our generation. We just have to let things progress and see what he does. He might surprise us yet. You haven't failed as a mother. You're not his only influence. If you were, he would have been perfect." Richard says as he kisses Hyacinth.


End file.
